Trümpland über alles

Wondering – now it appears it might not be such a joke after all – what a president Trümp would look like?

Just a taste, but in headlines, this is what just his campaign for the GOP nomination is looking like (a lot of these articles are from this week):

Trump’s rallies are full of protesters, shouting, and sometimes even violence

Trump’s name takes new meaning as racist taunt

White nationalist group makes robocalls supporting Trump

Former KKK grand wizard David Duke says voting against Trump is treason to your heritage


Here's a thoughtful question:

Is Donald Trump a fascist?

(opinions differ ... )

Donald Trump is an actual fascist

I know fascists; Donald Trump is no fascist

(although the article does say "Trump's xenophobic rhetoric, his demagoguery, and his populist appeals to citizens' economic anxieties certainly borrow from the fascist playbook.")

What does the GOP think of all this? Are they as alarmed as those on the left? (Does it matter?) Tough to say.

Establishment GOP now shifting to Trump

GOP establishment bashes Chris Christie for endorsing Trump

Of course, everyone talks smack about their rivals, but this alarm bell ringing Kasich ad isn't especially out of line.

Well, maybe Kasich is kind of reasonable? Maybe voters will wise up and he will get the nomination, and if the GOP takes the White House, it won't be totally awful? Not likely, but regardless, a reality check:

Kasich defunds Planned Parenthood in Ohio


Alright, well whatever ... this is all just drama. News networks have sold out and it's all about ratings. It's all about ad sales. It's all clickbait.  And probably no one is taking the KKK seriously.  We are waaaay past that (except for police killing black men). Right?

Wrong.

Trump breathing life into America's dying white supremacist movement

Trump’s America arrives: 3 muslims shot execution style in Indiana

(there are many articles on this incident from more "legitimate" news sources, but this is in my opinion the most apt headline)

3 stabbed at KKK gathering in CA, including one with flagpole

Southern Poverty Law Center intelligence report: amid year of lethal violence, extremist groups expanded ranks in 2015

^ this is a whole series of articles, among them:
The year in hate and extremism


How did we get here???

This is SO DUMB, IT CANNOT POSSIBLY BE REALLY HAPPENING. TELL ME THIS IS NOT HAPPENING.


By now you are probably anxious to read something intelligent about this grim situation, so try this:
Matt Taibbi for Rolling Stone: How America made Trump unstoppable

"A thousand ridiculous accidents needed to happen in the unlikeliest of sequences for it to be possible, but absent a dramatic turn of events – an early primary catastrophe, Mike Bloomberg ego-crashing the race, etc. – this boorish, monosyllabic TV tyrant with the attention span of an Xbox-playing 11-year-old really is set to lay waste to the most impenetrable oligarchy the Western world ever devised.

It turns out we let our electoral process devolve into something so fake and dysfunctional that any half-bright con man with the stones to try it could walk right through the front door and tear it to shreds on the first go."

Go ahead and scream.


I'll leave you with this:

Donald Trump will always be a short fingered vulgarian

America's Next Top Diplomat

Before reading this blog post, I humbly ask that you watch the video of Donald Trümp's Nevada caucus victory speech.  Keep a barf bag nearby, or pretend it's an SNL skit. Whatever gets you through it, but unlike republican caucus goers, remember not to vote (or raise your hand, or walk out the door with your unsubmitted voter registration .. or whatever it is people do at those things).

Here is the video.

Made it?  Ok. Kind of reminds me of a victory version of this:

If we can fast forward to a day in the future, when Trümp has had his fill of xenophobic followers cheering for him in arenas and has retired from politics (fingers crossed we see that day, and soon), maybe when our country has indeed become a better place (not the type of "great" place that keeps immigrants out with a wall), this is pretty fucking funny. This is great satire. It's all air: there's no shape to this speech, no indication that he's ever read a newspaper or that he's qualified to run a bingo match, let alone a whole country. Someone gave this man a microphone and he said "Vote for me! Trümp! And we'll have a great country - we'll win! Thanks voters! We're winning! Thanks immigrants; I hate you! And you voted for me anyway. Yay! Win! Win! Win!" and everyone cheered! They listened. They were captivated. His income is higher than most countries.

The Donald (not a person; a corporation, thus the ability to paralyze voters with his speech) has said that it's just interviewers who ask him questions about policy - voters don't care.  He is absolutely right. No one is looking to him for substance. They are just looking for a charismatic dad to tell them it's ok they hate Muslims - so does everyone else at the Trump rally! Maybe everybody everywhere! What a relief. So tiring, walking on eggshells about it. Yay! Winning!

I think we're in real danger here, both of taking Trümp far too seriously and of not taking him seriously enough. (As a candidate / as a threat to international diplomacy.) We give him substantially more air time than any other candidate. This is our fault - we're legitimizing him, his fans, his wealth, his fame, by giving him almost as much press as the Kardashians.




I did just say that. I said it.

But what's a more apt comparison? Does Kim K even speak? I've got no idea .. her lips could be glued together.  But it's impossible not to know her.  What does she do? No clue. Fame is now earned for nothing - why not the presidency? He won't play White House unsupervised.. the Kochs write all our legislation at this point, our petulant senate won't show up to work unless they get to oppose the black man on everything; they've made a mockery out of government.  So rises a mockery of a candidate. He's a caricature that breathes. He is yelling from a podium, with hamster hair, "My words mean nothing! You'll all just vote for me anyway!" And the crowd swells with relief! No one is going to ask them to understand politics. They don't even mind being called dumb. It's like a tailgate party.

Are we really doing this? Guys, this is real life, not reality TV. Or have they merged? can't keep track of who owns what.

Who could take this guy seriously? But we must. Laugh at home, put your brain in before entering a voting booth. He should not be where he is. This is far from ok.

People are sounding warnings here and there, but no one's really listening. Well, nobody but the Germans.